Olive oil on salad 'reduces blood pressure'

Consuming olive oil on salad could help to lower a person's blood pressure, potentially improving their health on a long-term basis, a new study has found.

Olive oil is a common feature of a Mediterranean diet, which has long been regarded as a healthy eating plan, as it also contains lots of fresh fruit, vegetables and nuts. This is in great contrast to the traditional British diet, which typically involves large quantities of butter, red meat and animal fat.

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Further proving that eating a Mediterranean-style diet is a healthy option is a new study carried out by a team from King's College London and the University of California, which discovered blood pressure levels could potentially be lowered by consuming such food.

Olive oil contains unsaturated fats, while nitrates and nitrites are found in salad ingredients such as spinach, celery and carrots. Together, these form nitro fatty acids, which the researchers decided to investigate further.

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Using mice, the scientists tested the effects of nitro fatty acids, finding they lowered the blood pressure of the animals as they cause an enzyme known as soluble epoxide hydrolase to be released when consumed.

Therefore, although a Mediterranean diet still contains fat, it is significantly healthier than the way British people traditionally eat, as the fats are largely unsaturated rather than saturated.

Co-author of the paper Professor Philip Eaton, a specialist in cardiovascular biochemistry at King's College London, commented: 'The findings of our study help to explain why previous research has shown that a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or nuts can reduce the incidence of cardiovascular problems like stroke, heart failure and heart attacks.'

Following these initial successful results on mice, human trials are now being planned to test how effective converting to a Mediterranean diet could be.

Previous studies relating to the consumption of olive oil have suggested that even fried foods could be made healthier if they are cooked in this type of oil, also potentially decreasing the risk of heart disease and premature death.

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